Frederick Parish was
created concurrently with Frederick County in 1738 by an act of the
colonial General Assembly of Virginia as an ecclesiastical unit of the
Church of England.
Cunningham Chapel was
the first of three chapels of the parish. It was constructed
probably in 1747, at a location three miles south of present day
Berryville. After the original log building was destroyed in the
Revolutionary War, it was replaced by the stone structure that still
stands today at this site, The Old Chapel.
Some of the original
congregation withdrew from Old Chapel, Frederick Parish, to establish
a mission church four miles northeast of Berryville known as Wickliffe,
which separated from Old Chapel in 1819.
Twelve years later a group of members of the Wickliffe congregation
desired a place to worship closer to the Berryville community.
Consecrated in 1831, Grace Church in Berryville was at first a mission
of Wickliffe, which then separated from Wickliffe Church in 1853. In
1919 the members of Wickliffe joined Grace Church.
The present Grace Church building was completed in 1857. In 1919
Wickliffe ceased holding regular weekly services and its members joined
Grace Church. Grace Church received major renovations and
remodeling in 1926. Of particular note are the large pipe organ,
extraordinary stained glass windows and carillon.
In the early 1900s, St. Mary's Memorial Church
was founded as a Mission of the Diocese of Virginia.
The Church was consecrated in 1914. Some years later, the original
schoolhouse was brought from the Wickliffe area to Berryville to be
used as a Parish Hall. Grace and St. Mary's have shared a minister,
provided Sunday School jointly, and operated as Sister Churches since
the 1960s.
The
historic Wickliffe Church building is maintained by Clarke Episcopal
Parish. It is used for an annual service which is held the third
Sunday in August.